Then Mission Valley Athletic League girls volleyball season is set to kick off league play Tuesday, Sept. 21, with three league match-ups. The defending league champion, Mission San Jose Warriors will open their season at the Irvington Vikings, third place finishers in the MVAL in 2009.

Second place finishers in league play in 2009, Washington Huskies, will take on the James Logan Colts at Logan. Also beginning league play will be the American Eagles and Kennedy Titans, squaring off at Kennedy.

Newark Memorial will begin their season a few days after every other team in the MVAL, due to a bye in week one. The Cougars will open up 2010 on Sept. 23, taking on the Mission San Jose Warriors at Mission.

Mission San Jose is coming off a superb 2009 season in which they finished league play 11-1, 22-6 overall, riding that record to a MVAL championship, and a trip to the second round of the NCS playoffs. The only team able to beat the Warriors last season in league play was James Logan. Mission San Jose is expected to return seven players from 2009, and is presumed to finish near the top of the division once again in 2010.

Second place finishers in 2009, the Washington Huskies are set to return one of the top players in the NCS from last season, Konami Yokoyama. Yokoyama was an absolute force in 2009. The Second Team All East Bay recipient finished the season with 475 kills, 225 digs and 75 aces.

The Irvington Vikings, third place finishers in 2009, are also expected to return seven players from last season. Katie Lopez, who led the team with 161 kills and 27 blocks, is set to return to Irvington for her senior season. Lopez was nearly unstoppable in the middle last season, and is set to lead the Vikings in 2010.

The Bishop O'Dowd Dragons girls Volleyball team ran away with the Hayward Area Athletic League in 2009. The Dragons finished the season with a perfect 12-0 record in league play, 37-9 overall. Bishop O Dowd is set to open up league play on Sept. 22 when they take on the Mt. Eden Monarchs on the road.

The Dragons are expected to bring back seven members from last year's team. Lindsey Parrott, an outside hitter, and also setter, will be looked upon to lead the Dragons to a repeat of last year's success. Parrott, who will play at UC Berkeley after her 2010 season, finished last season with 489 assists and 299 kills.

Second place finishers in 2009 with a record 10-2 in league, and 27-8 overall, Moreau Catholic Mariners will look to get over the hump this season and finish first overall. The Mariners are set to return six members from last season's squad. Expected to lead Moreau in 2010 will be Megan Scully and Katrina Torres.

Scully led the Mariners in kills last season with 304. Torres led the team in blocks with 49. Moreau Catholic will open up league play on Sept. 28 when they take on the Arroyo Dons at Arroyo. The Dons are coming of a .500 record in league play a season ago.

The San Leandro Pirates and Castro Valley Trojans both finished 2009 with identical 8-4 records in league play. Both teams are expected to compete for a chance to win the division this year, as both teams are expecting a solid amount of returning players. The Pirates are expecting another solid season from Mimi Oloye, who led the team in blocks in 2009 with 46.

The Pirates will open up league play as they host Hayward High on Sept. 21. Castro Valley will begin league play on Sept. 30 at San Leandro.

The rest of the HAAL will is set to begin with the Tennyson Lancers traveling to Bishop O'Dowd on Oct. 5. The San Lorenzo Rebels will open up league play hosting the Arroyo Dons on Sept. 21.

In Bay Counties League play last season, Fremont Christian (10-2) and California School for the Deaf (7-5) finished second and third in league play, respectively. They will look to aim for first when their season's pick up against Athenian High -- Aug. 31 for Fremont Christian; Sept. 2 for CSD.

All volleyball preseason schedules serve themselves up as early as Aug. 31.